Tony Winner Leslie Uggams on Being Influenced by Judy Garland and Working Out to Maroon 5

About the Show

Celebrated actress and singer Leslie Uggams will wow audiences at 54 Below November 13 through 17 with her new cabaret act Classic Uggams. A Tony winner for Hallelujah, Baby!, Uggams is best known for her starring roles in the groundbreaking miniseries Roots, the film Poor Pretty Eddie and the musicals Jerry’s Girls, Anything Goes,Thoroughly Modern Millie, Pipe Dream and Stormy Weather. (And if you're really, really old, you'll remember her singing along with bandleader Mitch Miller on TV.) Below Uggams opens up about being influenced by Judy Garland’s Carnegie Hall performance, never having to audition and working out to a popular Maroon 5 track.

What record/album was your favorite growing up?
“Up on the Roof” by The Drifters.

What concert most influenced you as a performer?
Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall.

What is your go-to audition song?
I don’t audition.

What song are you most excited to perform in your show?
All of them.

What musical theater track is the most played on your iPod? Hallelujah, Baby!

If you could invite any performer onstage for a duet at 54 Below, who would it be?
Wynton Marsalis

What was your favorite love song?
“On My Way to You” as sung by me.

What song makes you feel sexy?
“The Look of Love” by Dusty Springfield.

What is your favorite workout track?
“Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5.

What’s the best hidden gem in on your iPod?
“Free” by Will Downing.

Favorite break-up song?
“Walk On By” by Dionne Warwick.

What song most makes you smile?
“The Man I Love.”

When this song plays, I can’t help but dance:
“Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.